All Nightmare Long
by ucat42
Summary: Centuries ago a terrible accident scarred the waters of Deamonn Lake and forged a deadly legacy on the family of those hurt most. Sam and Dean race to save the teenagers being murdered by a vengeful spirit as a mother grieves, and a child suffers. Written for the Big Bang Challenge on Live Journal
1. Chapter 1

_A/N...This story was written a few months ago for the Big Bang challenge on Live Journal. I could not post it until today as I had to wait for my 'reveal date'. It was written in one sitting, while I was ill. It has been beta's by Alison Greene, my all time support person (you rock!) and it is not a very long story, I hope you like it, please leave a review!_

Prologue

Dean kicked the tire of the worn out, faded Hyundai. "Really, Sam? You expect me to drive this?"

His tall brother leaned over the roof of the car, his hands clasped together. "Dean, I'm not any happier about it than you are. I mean, look at it, it's a midget car. You think I'm gonna be comfortable riding around in that thing? Seriously"

Dean thumped the tire again. "Then why'd you jack this one? Anything, even a minivan, there had to be something better laying around"

"Trust me. It was this or a moped. Quiet day in outer sticksville. Just, get in and drive, we'll swap it first chance we get"

Dean started the car and it backfired like a war cannon, sending plumes of acrid blue smoke into the morning mist. "Real inconspicuous, there, Sammy. Good job. Glad I sent you to get the car this time"

"Just shut up and drive "Sam grumbled, his knees pushed up somewhere around his ears as he tried to unfold his long body in the tiny interior.

"Smells like feet"

"I get it Dean. Just drive"

Dean turned on the radio and tuned it to a classic rock station.

Metallica did its best to tear up the tinny speakers.

_Hunt you down without mercy_

_Hunt you down all nightmare long_

_Feel us breathe upon your face _

_Feel us shift, every move we trace_

_Hunt you down without mercy _

_Hunt you down all nightmare long, yeah_

_Luck runs out, you crawl back in_

_But your luck runs out_

_Your luck runs out_

Chapter One

The sun had set a good hour or so ago, and the darkness had stolen across the lake with a drop in temperature. From under the dull lights that surrounded the shore line you could see soft tendrils of mist that drifted up from the surface of the water, the still, quiet night holding only the barest hint of a breeze.

He watched as she stripped from her clothes, standing like that, under the light from one of the lamps, she was a sight that was almost too wonderful to bear.

She was a pretty thing, long blonde hair, big blue eyes, and the sort of figure that would make a teenage boy blush.

He reached up and felt his hot cheeks.

She would laugh at him if she saw him blushing.

But damn it, she was pretty! And _hot_.

He'd dreamed about her.

He'd dreamed about her, a lot.

He's day dreamed, too.

In class.

In his room.

While doing his chores…..

And now, here they were, at the lake, after curfew, and she was taking off her clothes.

"Hey bro, you coming in or what?" called Andrew, and the other guys laughed at him standing there staring at Penny.

They all knew he had a crush on her, _god_, the way he blushed every time he looked at her, it wasn't hard to tell.

"Right there with yah!" he called back and pulled his t shirt over his head.

He'd left his boxers on, oh, he knew they were supposed to be skinny dipping, but so far no one had taken all of their clothes off.

And he wasn't going to be the only one to go commando.

Not with this freezing water.

Or the jibes that would come over his ginger pubic hair.

He was the second to last to jump in, the six boys and girls in the lake were already having fun, and Penny and he were the only two still on the bank.

She turned and smiled at him and he felt his face grow even hotter. He only prayed the dim lights from around the lake didn't show the extent of his embarrassment as he dived into the frigid water.

The shock of the sudden temperature drop was a godsend to the heat in his cheeks and he mentally shook himself.

He was going to have fun, and he was going to have fun without thinking about Penny, not two yards away, almost naked.

He felt his cheeks grow hot again. And again he was grateful he'd left his boxers on.

The eight teenagers were having fun, though they made sure not to get too rambunctious. They were out after curfew, if the camp leaders found out they would be calling eight sets of parents to pick up their wayward teens, and camp would be over for them this summer.

That would mean grounding, and that would mean no more Penny till school started back.

Penny swam close. "Daniel!" she called to him, and he swore the water was steaming off his blood read cheeks. "Daniel, come closer!"

He swam over to her and they faced each other, treading water as they both smiled shyly.

"Sherry says you like me" she whispered to him.

Daniel couldn't speak. His throat would not open, he couldn't even swallow. He felt his cheeks burn even hotter as his embarrassment rendered him mute.

"So, what, you _don't_ like me?"

"Uh…um….Penny, I…" he stammered, as a hand grabbed the top of his head from behind and pushed him under water.

"Andrew, that was_ so_ not cool," yelled Penny.

Andrew laughed as the other kids swam up to them. "Aw, Penny, it's just that he's so into you, he can't even talk." Andrew laughed. "I was just cooling him down a bit"

"Well, it was mean, the poor guy has been dying to talk to Penny for ages, and when he finally gets the chance you go and dunk him" Sherry admonished as she swam over to Penny's side.

"Um, guys, shouldn't he have come up by now?" another boy called out.

Penny frowned, and scanned the water around her. "He's right. He should have been up by now"

The kids realized something was wrong. They dove, they called, they looked, becoming more and more frantic.

It took nearly ten minutes before a shout alerted the searching kids, and Andrew hauled a cold, blue, limp boy up to the surface.

They all helped get him to the banks of the lake.

One boy performed CPR as Sherry ran for help.

Penny took over breathing for Daniel as Andrew performed heart compressions, their panic held at bay, nearly silent as they struggled to bring him back to life.

Before long the camp leaders arrived and took over CPR, maintaining the fight until the emergency services arrived.

-0-

The only sounds in the hospital room were the machines keeping Daniel alive.

The beep from the heart monitor.

The whoosh and pump of the artificial respirator.

Daniel lay, still as death, his chest only rising and falling due to the compressions of the respirator, his heart beating mechanically in a steady, slow rhythm.

His brainwaves showed on another monitor. As steady, flat lines.

No movement, no variation, no bump or blip in the even patterns across the screen.

Apart from the machines, the boy lay still in the sterile hospital bed, no indication he was anything more than an organ donor waiting for his turn to part with his life saving components.

-0-

_Her legs were long, slender, athletic, and very shapely._

_He had fantasized over those legs for over a year now, ever since he transferred to this new high school._

_He had watched them running track, in cheerleader practice, in volley ball._

_He watched them as they shed their denim cladding, ready to jump into the frigid water of Lake Deamonn._

_He watched them now, from below, as they moved sensuously back and forth, keeping her afloat, as she tread water, the dim lights from the banks braking and cutting the surface like a thousand pieces of dime store costume jewellery._

_Was he dreaming? He didn't know how he got here._

_He remembered swimming, then…drowning?_

_But he couldn't have drowned, here he was, back at the lake, watching Penny swim._

_This time, it wasn't too dark to see._

_This time, it wasn't freezing cold._

_He smiled._

_His cheeks didn't burn this time. _

_He didn't know why, because every other time he'd watched those legs his face felt like lava as his friends teased him and he held his hands over his unexpected erection._

_This time, he felt calm._

_Together._

_Not the butt of anyone's jokes or innuendos._

_He swam closer to those legs, those wonderful, silky blue white legs, and the discoloration from the water and the lights lending them an ethereal quality that he found even more attractive than her normal, daylight tan._

_He knew she laughed at him, behind his back, with her friends, all poking fun at him and his red cheeks._

_She would not laugh this time._

_This time, she wouldn't even scream._

_He grabbed one ankle, a slim, warm, feminine ankle, and pulled her under the water._

_And held her close as the panic filled her eyes, struggling against him as her lungs started to burn for air._

_Until she opened her mouth to scream, letting the slightly acrid water enter her mouth and fill her lungs._

_He held her close as her eyes widened, her pupils dilated, and then all the light left them._

_Only then he let her go._

-0-

"Mom! Dad!" screamed Laurie. "Quick!"

The sleepy parents tumbled out of their bedroom, the father hitting the light switch automatically as his sleep addled brain tried to make sense of his fourteen year old daughter standing in the hall, outside of her sister's bedroom, screaming hysterically.

"What is it?" the mom yelled, grabbing her daughter by the shoulders. "What's wrong?"

The father stood before her, taking in her panic and fear. "Laurie!" he shouted, trying to gain some control. "Laurie! What's wrong?"

The frightened child looked into her sister's room. "It's Penny! Help her!"

The parents pushed the door open to find Penny laying on the floor of her tidy room, her back arched, her eyes wide in fear and pain and she coughed up mouthful after mouthful of dirty water, unable to catch a breath.

"Call nine one one!" screamed the father as he rushed to her side and turned her, trying to let the water run from Penny's mouth.

And run it did, nonstop, not allowing the girl to take a breath as it flowed over her bedroom carpet, soaking the floor, spilling out like a fountain.

All the father could do was hold his daughter as she bucked and choked, unable to breathe, her eyes wide in terror.

He held her as she died, clawing at her throat, desperate for a breath of air.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N... small chapter, next one will follow quickly..._**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"I don't know, Sammy. I mean, we should be keeping a low profile. Not charging off on a hunt into the middle of blue collar no name town"

Dean turned the car off the highway and grimaced as the well used Hyundai struggled with the gear change. The grunt and scream from the transmission hurt his teeth. That, coupled with the brilliant blue plume of smoke that flowed from the tail pipe made him cringe even further down in the saggy driver's seat.

"Look. The thing is, the Leviathans are probably behind this. I mean, um, drowning in your own bedroom?" Sam lifted his phone up as the arrow on the sat nav app jumped a little, then sat it back down, satisfied they were on the right route. "The paper reported black ooze coming from the victim's mouth as she died"

"Could be anything, Sam. Maybe her stomach contents or some new crap drug thing kids are mucking around with these days"

Sam folded the paper to the story. "See here? It says black ooze flowed from her mouth as she died. She drowned. In her bed. In her home, while she was asleep. And black ooze came out of her mouth"

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, well, there is _that_. Granted. I'm not convinced, though"

"Well, it's not gonna hurt to check it out. Hey, there's a motel just up ahead. You wanna grab a room and suit up?"

"Sounds like a plan" Dean glanced at his watch. "Man, I'm starved, though. Let's grab some chow first. Can't hurt to scope out the locals a little"

Sam glanced at his brother. "Well, yeah, it can, if they're all Levis"

Dean ducked his head a little. "There's _always_ that. Seriously, though, this could just be a vengeful spirit, or a water wraith. Have you checked out any of the local stories?"

Sam shrugged. "There's no internet coverage. I thought we could hit the research once we got into town. But seriously, black ooze from the girl's mouth? What else could it be?"

-0-

The coroner was a portly man, standing a full head and shoulders shorter than Dean, his rosy red cheeks and button nose giving him a cartoonish quality that Dean couldn't help but smile at.

He wore a bright red turtle neck under his lab coat, and his security pass hung around his neck from a macaroni lanyard. Each piece of pasta was painted a different, bright, fluorescent color.

The security tag itself was covered in stickers of the Simpsons, and his pocket protector was hot pink. He smiled and the harsh lights reflected off his shiny red scalp as it peaked through his comb over.

"So, have you seen this kind of thing before?" Dean asked him. "Or is this a new one for you?"

The coroner chuckled. "Never seen this, ever, before. Nothing like it. So, I'm baffled. She drowned in her own bed. Well" he waggled his bushy eyebrows "she started off in her bed and rolled onto her floor. I tell you, boys, if I didn't know better I'd be looking for the x-files to come running. This is a strange one, it is. Strange"

"The x-files aren't the actual people. They're the..." Dean stopped abruptly as Sam elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ah, the reports said there was some black substance that leaked from her mouth as she died?" Sam held a pad and pen before him, taking notes.

"Black ooze? Yeah" the coroner handed his notes all neatly typed and fastened to a stainless steel clip board to Dean.

"Pond scum? Is that what this says?" Dean frowned, one eyebrow raised as he looked down at the rotund man.

"Yep, that's what it ways, agent Smith. Pond scum. That black, silt like layer that sits on the bottom of a pond or lake, filled with decomposed aquatic plants and animals, and a good amount of pollutants"

Dean and Sam exchanged glances. Their looks were charged, and resigned at the same time. This was not a Levis case.

"Still need to do a few tests, but the good money's on Lake Deamonn."

"Lake Demon?" Sam took the report from Dean. "A lake named after demons?"

"Named after a pioneer in the area from a couple of centuries ago" the coroner gave them a bright, even teethed smile "Simon Deamonn. Got an A after the e and a double N on the end."

"Well, um. Okay. What makes you think that was the lake?"

"Only lake for a hundred miles. So, I guess it has to be the one. Can let you know for certain in a few hours"

They thanked him and made their way from the sterile room.

"Girl drowns in her own bedroom? And the lakes just happens to be called Lake Deamonn?"

"Yeah, that's weird" Sam agreed as they walked out of the building. "Though, no Levis"

"No Levis" Dean held the door open for his brother then followed him through. "Still, sounds like one for us"

Sam nodded. "Definitely sounds supernatural. So, what do you wanna do first? Library, family, or lake?"

Dean turned his nose up at the car even as he reached to open the door. "Lunch, dude, already told you, I'm starving"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Fine. Lunch it is. I can hit the 'net while we eat"

Dean started the small car and grimaced as it let out a loud backfire, blue smoke billowing from the tail pipe. "Dude, we need to ditch this P.O.S. No one is gonna believe we're FBI driving this heap"

Sam gave him a downturned smile. "Right with you there. I saw a hire car place on the way here. And it was right next to a bar."

Dean smiled as he pulled the car out into the light traffic. "Well, that's just serendipitous"

"Big word there, Dean. Don't want you hurting yourself"

"Funny, Samantha. Funny"

* * *

_**A/N... please review...I'd be forever grateful...**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N...yeah...sick again...maybe I'm run down. Need someone to look after me...**_

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Sam threw Dean the keys as they walked through the door to the bar. The interior was well lit with subdued, designer lamps. There were pool tables off to one side, and booths and tables in the main bar area.

Dean headed straight for the bar, his eyes on the menu above the shelved liquor.

"The bar manager will be right out to help you" a young fellow told them as he wiped down the large mirrors and gave them a smile.

A side door opened, and the manager walked over to serve them.

She was a tall, very attractive woman; her long, red hair swirled over her shoulders and curled around her more than ample bust line.

She smiled at the two men, but as she looked them up and down, taking in the suits, her smile faded from her full, pink lips.

Dean was used to that reaction whenever they dressed as Feds, he gave her one of his best grins, his eyes glinting in the over head lights, his dimples deep and framing his parted lips.

The girl frowned.

She looked up at Sam and her frown deepened. "How may I help you gentlemen?" she asked in a quiet voice, folding her arms across her very large chest.

"Well, we were just after a meal and maybe a beer" Dean turned his smile up a notch.

"What do you recommend, there...Ali, is it?" he asked, trying to decipher her badge as half her arm covered it.

"It's Alison. Special board is up there" she pointed above her head. "Can you guys drink on duty?"

Sam leaned on the bar. "Well, Alison, we're not actually on duty, right now. And one beer won't hurt"

She didn't seem convinced, her face still creased in a frown. "What brings you men here?"

Dean tipped his head. "Here, as in your bar? Or here, as in this town?"

She shrugged. "Last time the law walked in here they had bad news. So, I'm sorry if I seem a little edgy, but I just, you know, I guess, bad memories and all that"

"Do you mind me asking what happened?" Dean turned his smile down, now, putting on a sympathetic face.

Alison's frown changed to a mask of sorrow as the memory darkened her eyes. "My brother was killed in an accident. Two detectives came in; all suited up like you two, to deliver the news. So, like I said, bad memories and all"

"Well, me and Sam, here, we're FBI, not detectives, and we're here about a meal and a beer. And that's all. Well, maybe a smile from about the prettiest bar manager I think I've ever seen"

Despite her sad memories Alison felt her cheeks warm up and her mouth involuntarily lift at the sides.

This man was very charming.

And very, very handsome.

"That's _so_ much better. So how about a couple of burgers and a beer each for me and my partner?"

Alison nodded, her smile a little broader now. "Sure. Grab a booth; I'll bring it all over to you"

"Did you check out the rack?" Dean gave Sam a grin as they settled into a booth in the far corner.

"Couldn't really miss them, Dean. She's very well endowed"

Dean winked. "Killer rack. Just the way I like 'em"

"We're on a case"

"I can look, can't I?'

"Size of those things, I don't think you have a choice" Sam smiled back and opened his computer up. "So, research. Let's start with the lake"

"Not the bedroom girl?" Dean looked up as Alison approached with their beers, giving her a warm smile and thanking her as he accepted the glasses. He watched her walk away, leaning out of the booth to track her back to the bar as she sashayed her more generous rear end, her jeans tight. "The bigger the cushion….." he murmured.

"What?" Sam looked up from the lap top.

"What?" Dean looked back at his brother. "Oh, the girl. Bedroom drowner. Why don't you start with the girl?"

"Well, I think I got a link already." He turned the laptop so they could both see it at the same time. "See here? There was a near drowning last month during a school camp. Kids snuck out and went swimming after lights out, and one got into trouble. Penny, our bedroom drowning vic, was one of the swimmers"

"Yeah? So we got what, a vengeful spirit? Easy"

Sam pulled the computer back around. "Boy didn't die, Dean. He's in a coma at the local hospital"

Dean took a sip of his beer. "So we got what, another kid stuck in a coma, taking spectral walks out and killing his class mates? We've had this before. Fun times"

Sam frowned as he read further. "Well, yeah, I guess you're right. Sounds pretty clear cut. Oh, wait. The girl that died? Penny? The coma boy had a crush on her. He didn't have a grudge against her or anything"

The both fell silent as Alison brought their food over. "Can I get you another beer?" she asked Dean, and this time her smile seemed more relaxed.

Dean smiled back at her. "Thanks, yeah, that'd be great"

He waited until she brought his new drink over and left before he turned back to his brother. "So, if he was Mr. Unrequited, why is he killing her?"

"Maybe he's not the one. Says here they were horsing around and Daniel, the boy in the coma, got pushed under. His feet tangled in some lake weed and he drowned. Took them fifteen minutes to get his heart re started, and he suffered massive brain damage. Basically, he's a cabbage. His parents are holding hope that he'll wake up even though doctors have declared him pretty much brain dead"

"Who else could it be?" Dean bit into his burger, his face, for a moment, a picture of pure rapture as he savored his favorite food.

"Dunno. His parents, maybe? Trying to get revenge? Look, I'm not saying he's _not_ the one, but it may not be so clear cut. The guy basically died at the lake, his body is being kept alive by machines. Why wait a month before taking retribution?"

Dean shrugged. "Guess we talk to parents. The girl's and the boy's. My money's on the boy, though. You know how spirits get things mixed up. If he thinks they hurt him, or his girl's looking elsewhere, he could be taking things into his own hands."

"Yeah. I guess. We gotta be sure, though"

"Yeah, I know. We don't want to go dragging a sixteen year old coma victim boy outside and torching him if we aint sure"

Sam looked at this brother, his brow raised. "You're just on fire today, aren't you?"

Dean waggled his eyebrows back, his grin wide.

* * *

_**A/N... please review...it's a tonic for me...**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N...sorry, still sick. Can't think of a comment..._**

* * *

Chapter Four

The room was dark, curtains were drawn tight, and only one lamp provided a smattering of filtered light in the sitting room.

Penny's family sat on the large, bright red sofa, the father in the middle with his arms wrapped around the shoulders of his wife on one side and his daughter on the other.

Dean and Sam sat opposite them in sofa chairs; Sam had his notebook open and was jotting down the names of the kids that the wife was reciting to him.

"I'm sure that's all. There were eight of them, including Daniel." She wiped her eyes with a tissue. "Four boys and four girls. Yeah, eight, I'm sure"

"Um, Mrs. Carmichael? How did Penny get along with the other kids in the group?"

She looked up at him, her forehead scrunched in a frown, her red, tear rimmed eyes confused. "What do you mean?"

Dean leaned forward a little, his expression one of sympathy. "Did anyone have a problem with Penny? Any reason to think someone may have had a grudge against her?"

Penny's mom looked at her husband, then back at the boys. "No, gosh, no way! Penny was very popular! She was in all the right clubs, had heaps of friends, no, no one would want to hurt her."

Dean looked at the father, and saw no more than a tired, saddened, confused man. No subterfuge there.

He turned to the little sister. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks and her eyelashes were tented from crying.

She looked back at Dean and shook her head. "Penny was great. Best sister you could have. She wasn't one of those bitchy, mean girls. Everyone really did love her" She pressed the heel of her hand to her mouth as a sob escaped her.

"Would you mind if we took a look at her room?" Dean asked.

The father shrugged and the mother nodded.

"I'll show you" the little sister said as she pulled from her father's protective arm. She leaned back and left a soft kiss on his forehead before leading the 'FBI' agents up the carpeted stairs.

"So, um, Laurie?" Sam looked down at the pretty little girl as she stood at the doorway to her sister's room. "There's nothing else you could tell us? About your sister, I mean?"

Laurie peered up at the hunters through her bangs. "It's all true. You would have liked her too, if you met her. No one, not anyone, hated her. I used to be the luckiest girl alive. I had the world's best sister" she dissolved into tears and ran back down the stairs.

Dean looked at Sam. "Dude. You broke the little girl" he said as he pushed into the darkened room, flicking on the light as he entered.

"Smell that?" Sam bent to the floor and felt the carpet. "It's still soaking wet. It smells like a swamp"

Dean walked over to the bright pink dressing table, his shoes squelching at each step. "Just how much water came out of that girl to leave the carpet soaked two days later?"

Sam pulled a small computer from under the strawberry printed pillow and opened it up.

"No password. Good" he took it over to the corner desk and sat down as Dean started to look through the items on the dressing table, stopping when he found a diamante covered diary.

"Jackpot" he breathed as he opened it and started to read.

"I dunno Dean, looks like the parents were right. From her emails and her Facebook page, it looks like everyone really _did _like Penny"

Dean looked up from the bright colored book. "Yeah. Diary pretty much says the same thing." He walked over to the desk. "Says here that she knew this Daniel kid had a crush on her. She kinda liked him back"

Sam scrolled down the posts on Penny's Facebook page. "Yeah. Pretty much everyone knew they had a thing for each other. Teenage crush. No bad feelings there"

Dean leaned forward to read over his brother's shoulder. "That's coma boy's mom there" he pointed to a post. "Doesn't sound vengeful or hateful. Sounds like they liked Penny, too"

Sam shrugged. "Well, no one's gonna post anything but condolences and nice things on her page. I can't see anything here that helps us. Older posts would be the place to start"

"Dude, how do you know so much about Facebook?"

Sam didn't answer, he just scrolled through the site, stopping to write down a name or some information here and there.

"Well, nothing else useful here. Some pictures from school and some home work on her lap top. Pretty boring stuff. Diary got anything else to go on?"

Dean pulled open his jacket and tucked the bejeweled book into his breast pocket. "We can go through it properly later." He looked up at the floral wall paper, the book shelf lined with about a thousand Barbie dolls, the diamante adornment on almost every surface in the room. "Let's blaze, this room is giving me the jeebs"

-0-

The woman leaned forward and brushed her son's sandy red bangs from his face, his pale skin contrasted by a smattering of dark freckles across his nose.

The incessant noise from the ventilator, while quiet, seemed to dominate the room, the presence of it looming in the corner like some robotic monster while it kept the boy alive.

"He is a good boy. Just, you know, shy. He has this stammer, and he blushes terribly when he gets nervous, and the kids teased him a little about it"

"So, Mrs. Bradmere, would you say your son was bullied?" Dean asked her.

Daniel's mother looked across at him. "Gosh, no, he's very popular! Luckily for him, he's a fantastic sportsman. Quarterback and he runs track. Very talented. And he was a nice kid, you know? Never got into any trouble. Being a red head kid with a blushing problem only adds to his charm, I think. He has a large group of friends, see all the cards? The kids visited pretty much every day, until a few days ago. Now they don't come as much, but they still come."

Sam stood a little behind Dean, his EMF open and turned on, but it remained quiet. He turned it off and put it back in his pocket.

"He had a bit of a crush on one of the girls, didn't he?"

Mrs. Bradmere smiled. "Oh, yes, he was totally over the moon over this Penny girl. Poor thing" she turned back to her boy, brushing his bangs again. "I don't know how I'm going to break it to him when he wakes up"

Sam picked up the chart from the night stand and started to flick through it.

"Mrs. Bradmere? You have any resentment for the boy that pushed him under the water?"

The middle aged woman looked at Dean and a single tear found its way down her cheek, touching then passing the corner of her mouth. "Andrew? No. Not at all" she sighed. "They shouldn't have been at the lake, so they all were doing the wrong thing. But kids will be kids, I get that. I was sixteen once myself, you know. They were just fooling around. Andrew is Daniel's best friend, and he also gave my son CPR for fifteen straight minutes. Resent him? He pulled my boy out of the water and he saved his life. So, no, I don't resent him. I thank him. He's a hero"

She looked at her watch. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I have to go pick up my younger daughter from school. So if you're done here?"

"Yeah, thanks. We appreciate your help" Sam smiled at her and Dean nodded.

"I'm sure Daniel will wake up soon"

She gave them a smile as she left the room. "I have no doubt. No doubt at all"

Sam waited until the click of her heels faded from earshot.

"Kid's never waking up, Dean. He's only got the barest basic function left in his brain" Dean took the chart Sam was offering. "He doesn't even have enough juice to breathe on his own."

Dean flipped through the pages. "Nothing? Not even a dream?"

Sam shook his head. "No dreams, no thoughts, nada. Kid's got less in there than a clock radio"

"Geez, that sucks out loud. Seems like mom's not gonna give up, though, no matter what"

"Well, there's no EMF. No brain activity. We could try, maybe, a talking board, but I'm not getting a whole restless spirit vibe here, Dean"

Dean sighed and hung the chart on the end of the bed. "Yeah, me neither. So, I guess, let's go check out the friends. What else have we got to go on?"

Sam turned and followed his brother as they walked from the hospital room. "History of the lake, see if anything strange went on there?"

"Sure. Research. My favorite. One day I'd like to find a hunt where we didn't have to research anything. I mean nothin'. Just get out there and gank the suckers"

"Yeah. That's gonna happen"

"Kill joy"

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_**A/N...will try to have the next chapter up in a couple of days... please review?**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N... sorry for the delay in posting...I was still sick. Finalyl starting to get better...**_

* * *

Chapter Five

_He sat on the hood of his car, arm around the Sherry's shoulder._

_The sunset was beautiful and he mentally patted himself on the back for choosing this time and place to take his girl._

_Girls liked sunsets._

_Girls liked guys that liked sunsets._

_And he knew how to pretend to like sunsets._

_"Oh, Andrew, this was the best idea!" Sherry gushed and snuggled tighter into him, their backs against the windshield, their legs straight out in front of them as they reclined on the front of his car._

_He turned his head and nuzzled in to the side of her neck, her hair warm and soft against his face._

_She didn't pull away, instead she sighed in a contented, almost enraptured way._

_Encouraged, he kissed her ear, gently, then let his tongue trail down her neck, relishing the warm, sweet taste of her skin._

_"Ooooh, did you feel that?" she asked._

_"I'm definitely feeling something" he whispered back._

_This time a lurch and bump of the car brought his head out of her silky tresses with a start._

_"The car's moving!" he gasped. "The handbrake must've slipped"_

_Sherry sat up straight and looked at him, her face bright with fear as the car picked up speed, rolling towards the lake._

_"Jump!" he yelled and gave her a little push, sliding her off the side of the car where she rolled and leapt to her feet, unscathed._

_"Andrew, you too! _Jump_!" she called out._

_He looked at her as the car picked up momentum, but he couldn't seem to move._

_"Jump!' screamed Sherry, her hands clasped together as she jumped up and down."Andrew!_

_JUMP! _JUMP_!"_

_He turned his head to look at the lake as the car sped towards the bank, and he could not move. He felt glued to the hood of his car as it bumped and shook over the uneven ground, picking up more and more speed._

_He could feel his heart pounding and his bowels loosening in fear, but he could not bring himself to jump from the car._

_He tried to scream to yell, but he could make no sound._

_He closed his eyes as the car careened over the steep bank, not opening them until the shock of the frigid water made him gulp one last breath before his head was pulled under, the water murky and dark, though still enough of the sunset's red and pink tones break through to let him see around himself._

_The car went down quickly and he was freed from his invisible bond. He wasn't too far down and knew he would have to get out; the water was so cold it could kill him as quickly as drowning if he didn't get out of the water fast._

_He swam towards the surface when he felt something snag the hem of his jeans._

_He kicked to free himself, but whatever it was, it had a tight hold._

_He was so close to the surface, but just not close enough._

_He kicked again, but to no avail._

_He bent and ducked towards his foot, pulling hard to free himself from the unseen tether._

_Andrew lost half his air in shock when a face drifted up towards him._

_He knew that face._

_It was Daniel's face._

_And Daniel was smiling._

_Andrew was confused, and wanted to reach out to him…._

_But his lungs were bursting; he didn't have much time left._

_He pulled at his jeans again, desperately shaking his leg to try to break free._

_Daniel smiled again, his sandy red hair waving in the murky water, the pink fingers of light caressing him in a crazy pale hued rainbow._

_He pointed and Andrew realized that Daniel was holding his hem with his other hand, pointing to what he was doing and smiling._

_He stopped pointing and waved at Andrew._

_Panic set in and Andrew kicked and struggled, using all of his strength, trying to break free of his best friend's vice like grip._

_The last thing he saw was Daniel smiling, waving goodbye, as he could hold his breath no more and took in a mouth full of the brackish lake water._

-0-

Dean let his towel drop and reached over for his boxers as the motel door opened.

Covering himself with his hands he let out a sigh of relief as he saw it was his brother carrying a cardboard tray of food and coffee, newspaper tucked under his arm.

Dean turned back to the bed and grabbed his underwear. "Shut the door, Sammy, you're lettin' all the cold air in"

Sam kicked the door closed and sat the food on the table, hooking a chair out with his foot and sitting as he opened the paper. "Happened again, Dean"

"What?" Dean pulled a t shirt over his head and grabbed his bag and rummaged for a pair of jeans. "What happened again?"

"Last night. Kid drowned in his sleep. In his bedroom"

Dean sniffed his jeans and shrugged. Clean enough. "Another kid? One of the swimming group?"

"Not just the swimming group. This one was Andrew, the best friend, the guy that pulled coma kid from the water."

"The hero?" Dean pulled on the jeans and zipped the fly, his expression confused. "The girlfriend and the best friend, both drown in their own beds." He padded barefoot over to the table and sat opposite his brother. "I think we gotta talk to the whole group of kids. See if anyone is trying to extract some kind of justice here. For my part, though" he sniffed his coffee and took a large gulp of the scalding liquid "It's still the coma boy."

Sam nodded, swallowing his mouth full of food. "Yeah. Right. But why now? Why'd he wait a month before doing anything?"

Dean lifted a brow and picked up his cell from the table. "Let's ask his doctor"

Sam ate while Dean talked to the hospital, hanging up his phone with a satisfied smile.

"Boy's finally giving up the struggle. Apparently, a body can only live so long with such severe brain damage. A few days ago his organs started to fail. Doc says no longer than a week, even with the machines at full bore"

Sam shrugged, his mouth down turned. "Sounds like he's our boy. But, Dean, how do we stop him? I mean, we can't drag his half dead ass into the hall and light him up. So, how do we trap his spirit in the meantime?"

Dean leaned back on his char and wiped his chin with a motel napkin. "There has to be a way. I'll call Bobby, see if he's got any clues. You track down the other kids from the group, though I'm thinking they're not in much danger while they're awake. The other two died while they were sleeping"

"So do I need to source out some African Dream Root?"

Dean stood and stretched, then grimaced. "God, I hope not". He tipped his head a little, his smile creeping up to cover his face. "Though, the dreams of a sixteen year old cheer leader…"

"Angst, Taylor swift and pimples, I'm thinking. Not pillow fights and lingerie"

"Mmmmm…pillow fights…."

-0-

Dean grabbed Sam's arm. "Isn't that Busty Mc Hot Butt from the bar?"

Sam looked towards the nurses' station to see the tallish woman, her long red hair swirling down her back, her ample buttocks jutted out as she chatted to the staff at the desk. "Yeah. Um. Alison, I think. Yeah, Alison"

"What's she doing here?" Dean pulled at his jacket and walked up to the desk.

"Oh, agents. The doctor's expecting you" The middle aged nurse behind the desk gave them a bright smile. Alison turned and her face reflected the boys surprise when she saw who had approached.

"Oh. Hi. What are you guys doing here?"

Dean frowned a little. "We're here to see the doctor of a young man that nearly drowned about a month ago. And you?"

"Drowned? You mean Daniel Bradmere?"

Sam stepped forward. "I guess everyone has heard about him. This being a smallish town and all"

Alison gave him a sad smile. "Well, there is that. And the fact that Daniel is my brother. I'm Alison Bradmere."

Dean frowned and shook his head. "You said your brother died in an accident"

"You call that living? Seriously, my brother died that day. My mom just won't face it, and keeps his heart beating with that damned machine. But we all know Daniel's not there. He never has been. My brother is gone, and right now we're just waiting for the rest of his body to accept that"

"Doctor will meet you in Daniel's room" the nurse told them, hanging up a telephone. Sam nodded thanks to her and then followed Dean and Alison to the boy's hospital room.

"I can tell you pretty much all you need to know" Alison propped the door open then moved to the window to pull the curtains open, sending the brilliant rays of light into the room and across the still form of her brother. "He was a good kid, my little brother. Got teased a little for being a red head, but he won everyone over sooner or later"

Dean pulled a chair over and sat. "You're a red head. Did you get teased as well?"

Alison shook her head, the red tresses reflecting the sun in a soft, coppery glow. "I'm actually blonde. I dyed it red when Daniel had his accident. I don't know, tribute or something. Just seemed like the thing to do"

"Well, red suits you" Dean smiled at her.

Sam cleared his throat. "Yes. Well. Miss Bradmere"

"Alison"

"Alison. The doctor said to my partner earlier that your brother's body is giving out. His organs are shutting down"

Alison sat in the soft arm chair by the window and looked towards her brother. "He's giving up. It's enough. I think my mom has had her chance to say goodbye, and now it's time to let him go."

"I couldn't agree more" the doctor entered the room, a tall man, shaggy brown hair and dark, round eyes giving him a roguish air. "Daniel's parents are on their way in. I think that they finally accept, well, what Alison has. It's the right thing to do"

Sam held out his hand to the doctor. "I'm Agent Smith. This is my partner, also, um, Agent Smith. Nice to meet you Doctor….?"

The doctor grabbed his hand and shook it warmly. "Dr Hassan. Nice to meet you gentlemen. I know you're investigating the strange deaths we've had over the last couple of nights, but I can tell you, this boy isn't connected. He's been here in the hospital for over a month"

Sam pulled out his trusty little notebook. "Can you tell me, Dr Hassan, when Daniel's organs started to shut down?"

The doctor nodded. "He's barley been holding on, but four nights ago his kidneys started to fail. The rest of his body is shutting down, bit by bit, but the progress is speeding up"

"Four days ago. Penny died four days ago" Sam spoke loud enough only for his brother to hear.

"Can he feel anything? I mean, he's not suffering, is he?" Dean asked the doctor.

Dr Hassan shook his head. "Daniel's been incapable of any feeling, of any pain response or rational thought, since he was dragged from the lake. He's brain dead. Whatever you believe in, the soul, life force, the spark of life, Daniel hasn't had that the whole time he's been in hospital. He has almost no brain function. Take the machine away, he can't even breathe on his own."

He turned to Alison. "I'm sorry. I know you accept this, but it can't be easy hearing me say it out loud over and over"

She offered him a sad smile. "You're right, it's not easy. But I made my peace with it a month ago. I come here to, I don't know, say a final good bye? See him for as long as I can? But I know, today should be the last day I do this. Oh, there are my parents now"

Dean stood as Mrs. Bradmere came into the room, closely followed by a tall, red haired, athletic looking man. They were trailed by a younger girl, almost a clone of the boy in the bed.

Dean and Sam slipped out of the room and stood, trying to hear what was conspiring inside.

A loud sob from Mrs. Bradmere and a muffled cry from her husband told her all they needed to know.

They turned to leave as Alison grabbed Dean's arm. "I can't watch this bit" she gasped. "Please, can you get me out of here?"

Dean looked down at the pinched face, pain and sorrow clearly painted across her delicate features. "Are you sure? I mean, if they're pulling the plug, you know this would be the last time…."

"I know. I've already said my goodbyes. Over and over. I just can't sit there and watch his heart monitor until it stops."

"You don't want to wait with your family?" Sam asked her.

"I'll meet them at home, later"

"Okay. Fine. Let's go"

* * *

_**A/N ... Next chapter in a couple of days! Please review... please?**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N... another small chapter. It's your own fault, I needed more reviews! **_

_**I am slowly getting better, the doctor I saw did not pick up an ear infection, so I was pretty ill for a few days. Hopefully on the mend now!**_

* * *

Chapter Six

Sherry wiped her eyes on her sleeve and looked up at the boy standing beside her. "I can't believe Andrew is dead. I mean, what the hell?"

The boy, a gangly dark haired fellow with brilliant white teeth placed an arm around her shoulder. "You had a thing with him, didn't you?"

Sherry sighed. "No, not really. I mean, like, we both liked each other, but no one said anything, and we hadn't kissed, or anything. You know, we never got together"

"Yeah, I know" the boy, Jason, replied. "First Penny, then Andrew? Stuart said they drowned in their sleep. What's with that? Did you guys hear anything?"

The five teens were sitting at a small street side café in the main strip, a tray of frappes on the table in front of them. Jason had his arm around Sherry, comforting her, the others just all sat, faces drawn, eyes red rimmed, expressions bleak.

"Stuart is Andrew's neighbor, right?" asked one of the girls.

"Yeah, Shell, he is. And his mom worked with Daniel's mom. He said that the ambulance, fire crew and cops were there at like, two a.m. Andrew went to bed, then drowned while he was asleep. There was so much water it leaked through the bedroom floor and started an electrical fire in the basement. Smoke alarms woke them all up."

"Dude that is so whack!" Shell exclaimed. "Daniel's crush, and now his best friend. Both drown in their own beds while they slept!"

"Are we next?" Sherry lifted her large, doe like eyes to regard her friends. "I was Penny's best friend_. Am I next?"_

No one answered her.

"Is this like that old sucky movie where that gross guy kills the teenagers in their sleep?"

"You think Daniel's gone Freddy Kruger on us?" Jason looked at each of the frightened faces at the table. "Really? I mean, listen to yourself…"

The dark girl to his left leaned forward, her elbows on the table. "Hey, you guys know me, you know I don't believe none of this supernatural special effects urban legend shit. But the thing is, _two of our friends just drowned in their own beds while they slept_. So you tell me" she lifted her hands, palms up "If Daniel hasn't gone Kruger, then what the fuck is happening?"

Silence greeted this question.

The five kids all looked at the table, the sky, their hands, anything to avoid eye contact with the others.

After a moment the last of the boys, Mark, a tall, heavy set young fellow with bright green eyes reached forward and grabbed a frosty glass from the tray and slurped it noisily, sucking the straw so hard his cheeks were a concave shadow.

He looked up at the four sets of eyes regarding him with surprise. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I aint never sleeping again!"

-0-

Dean paid the waitress as she sat the three cups of coffee on the pressed metal table and he picked up his mug, the plain black liquid smelling like nirvana as he sipped it noisily, too hot to take a good mouthful.

"That's them" Alison nodded towards a table where five young teens sat, each nursing a frothy beverage in a tall, handled glass. "My brother's friends that were at the lake that night. That's them"

Sam turned in his seat to see the kids behind him. "Great. But, um, what do we do? We can't follow each one and keep them safe"

Dean stood, holding his coffee. "No, but I have an idea" He looked at Alison. "Do the kids know you? Can you introduce us, make it a little easier for them to trust us?"

"Why wouldn't they trust you? I mean, you're FBI?"

Dean raised his brows. "Well, coz we're gonna ask them a few pretty crazy things. Be a bit easier if they see Daniel's sister is with us"

"Yeah. Sure. I guess" She picked up her coffee and followed Sam to the table with the kids.

"Hey guys. You all know Alison, Daniel's sister, right?" Dean pulled an empty chair up to the group as the children looked at each other in confusion.

"Me and my partner here, we have something to tell you guys that might sound a little crazy"

Sherry leaned forward. "Crazier than our friends drowning in their own beds?"

Dean gave her a strained smile. "Well, actually, that's exactly what we needed to talk to you about"

-0-

Dean hung up the cell and placed it on the table. "Alison said the funeral is day after tomorrow. Cremation. No organ donations. Should all be over then"

Sam hooked a fork full of salad and nodded. "She okay?"

Dean leaned back in the booth. They had decided to eat at the bar, even though they knew Alison had taken the night off to be with her family. "Okay as she can be, I guess. So as soon as we're finished here I'll call her and we can meet up at the scout hall"

"Babysitting teenagers for the night. Not what I had in mind"

Dean lifted his beer glass. "Well, we got tonight, and tomorrow. As long as we keep the kids alive I don't care. They better not play any of their music though. I may let them get dream drowned if I have to listen to any of their thumping dub step crap."

"Nope, strictly pizzas, video games and sleeping bags. You should fit right in"

Dean smirked. "Except that I'm a guy in my thirties hanging out with sixteen year olds."

Sam chewed his mouth full of salad, a smile forming on his lips as he swallowed. "Dude, do you realize you're old enough to be their father?"

Dean looked shocked. "Really? Dude, you need to never say that again. _Ever"_

Sam laughed.

"I'm serious, Sammy boy. Never again want to think about that one"

Sam laughed harder.

-0-

_She rested her head back on the rolled up towel, the warm bubbles soothing and caressing her body, easing out the tensions of the last few terrible days._

_She had her head phones on, not the little pink ear plugs, but the full cover your ear, drown out any other noise mo-fo pair her uncle had given her for Christmas._

_She stretched her toes out and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of Christina Aguilera singing about how hard life can be when you're beautiful and talented._

_Sherry sighed. She would have to get out soon, those FBI guys were going to make sure they were all safe tonight, though her parents thought they were holding an all night memorial to their lost friends._

_She felt something brush passed her belly and she swiped at it. Must be the wash cloth drifting in the bath water._

_It flittered across her stomach again, and this time it lingered a little more._

_She moved a bit to make the water carry the wash cloth away, but it swirled around her bosom._

_She gasped as the pressure increased, and realized that it actually felt, well…_

_It felt like a hand._

_Her eyes snapped open._

_She could feel the hand, touching and caressing her breast. She looked down but couldn't see anything except the thick coating of bubbles._

_She felt her breast, and there was nothing there._

_But there it was again, this time her other breast, and at the same time another had caressed her _down there_._

_She gasped and pulled her headphones off, sitting straight up in the bath and scooping the bubbles aside._

_There was nothing there._

_Only _her_ in the bath._

_Even the wash cloth was still hanging over the tap._

_The caressing grew stronger and she grabbed the sides of the tub to pull herself up and out of the bath._

_She tried to scream, but her breath was caught in her throat, she could make no sound._

_She felt the hands clutch her around her waist, even though she could not see them._

_They held her tight, pulling her down, pulling her under the water._

_Her skin was indented in the shape of the hands, and try as she could, she was unable to break free, they were just too strong._

_One hand left her waist and she felt it grab her forehead, pulling her face under the warm water._

_She struggled, her eyes wide open, one arm on the side of the tub as she desperately struggled to lift herself up, the other clawing as her skin, trying to grab the invisible hands and release their deathly grip._

_She clawed at her belly, at her head, scratching deep grooves into her own skin, but not able to find the ghostly fingers that held her fast._

_Held her tight._

_Held her down._

_Held her under the water._

_She bucked and struggled, she fought with all her waning strength._

_Until she could hold her breath no more, and opened her mouth to draw in a desperate lungful of air._

_And got only water._

_Cold, brackish lake water._

_With her last coherent thought, she was sure she saw Daniel, his face drifting only inches above hers….._

* * *

_**A/N... please leave me a review. It would mean so much, you don't have to say a lot, just let me know you read it, and that I am totally awesome. God like, even. Brilliant. Witty, and intelligent.**_

_**Failing that, just a word or two that you did read and like it would make my day! Next chapter withing two days...aprox**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N... not much to say...thank you for the lovely reviews! I'm tired, just back at work after bing sick, so I am exhausted. Ten hour days will do that to you...**_

* * *

Chapter Seven

"Thanks, Mr Harper. We'll make sure Jason doesn't step a foot outside. See you at seven thirty in the morning!" Alison waved to the boy's father as he got back into his car.

Jason stepped inside and gave Alison a strange look when he saw Sam salt the doorway as soon as they closed the heavy wooden door.

"You guys….you really think this will work?"

"We better hope it will" The dark girl, Amanda, commented. "I don't wanna die in my sleep. I don't wanna die._ Period_"

Jason swung his sleeping back onto the pile and sat in a bright red bean bag. "I heard Penny wasn't asleep. She woke up. And that wasn't enough to stop her dying. I'm telling you I don't think I can sleep, lines of sugar or whatever."

"Salt" Sam said as he checked the lines on the window sills. "It's salt. And, yeah. I heard that, too. Her mom said that they couldn't stop her once she started to drown." He looked at the four frightened faces all turned up to watch him. "So, me and my brother, here, we're gonna make sure no one starts to drown. Agreed?"

The kids nodded back at him.

Dean was setting up the large but rather old television with the game console as Alison helped, tuning the station and setting the color.

Sam placed the salt can on the large wooden dining table and looked at the kids. "Um, guys? Where's, ah, Shelly?"

"Sherry. Her name is Sherryanne, I'm Shell, short for Michelle. And he's right, where is she?"

The kids looked at each other, shrugging, no clues.

"Can someone ring her?' Alison asked. "See if she's on her way?"

"You've got her number, don't you, Amanda?" Jason asked.

Mark, the green eyed boy, grabbed his cell phone from his jacket pocket. "I got it, too. Hang on, I'll call her"

Everyone watched as he rang, and waited for an answer.

He hung up the phone. "Voice mail"

Amanda scrolled through her contact list on her phone. "I got her home number, I think"

She pressed a button and placed the phone to her ear.

"Yeah, hi, this is Amanda, Sherry's friend? She was supposed to…..oh" she fell silent as she listened to the voice on the phone.

A tear slipped down the young girl's cheek as she listened.

Dean leaned on the dining table, his expression grim. He looked over at Sam and knew they both were thinking the same thing.

Amanda hung up the call and looked around the small circle of teens, then up at the adults, aware all eyes were upon her. "She's dead. She fell asleep in the bath and she drowned"

Sam stood. "I'll go. You stay with the kids" He hooked his coat from the stand near the door and checked for his fake I.D.

Dean nodded. "Okay. Keep in contact"

Amanda was sobbing, her head in her hands, as the other kids hugged her and tried to comfort her.

"Are you sure this is my brother? I mean, he wouldn't hurt a fly. He wouldn't. Even if he was a spirit…"

Dean ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Alison. I am. But, you see, once a soul dies, I dunno, in an accident? Well, sometimes they get stuck here, and they're angry, and confused, and they can do all sorts of terrible things. Things they would never have done, alive, in any circumstance"

Alison's lip trembled. "But, he's my brother. My baby brother. I know him. He couldn't….He wouldn't!"

"No. He wouldn't. That's why he needs to rest, Alison. When he's cremated tomorrow, he'll be at rest, and all of this will stop. Trust me"

Her lip trembled harder and tears started to run down her cheeks. "Okay" she nodded and swiped angrily at her wet face with her sleeve. "Okay. I trust you. I believe you. I guess, all spirits started somewhere, right?" She offered him a fragile smile. "Let's work at keeping these kids alive, then"

-0-

Sam returned over four hours later. The kids had eaten, played video games, chatted and cried, though not in that order, and were now circled in on the large shag pile rug on the floor, all in their sleeping bags, talking in hushed tones, all too frightened to go to sleep.

Surrounding them was a ring circle of salt and several sigils chalked in a protective barrier.

Standing at the door, he nodded to Dean to indicate he wanted him to join him outside.

"Go" Alison whispered. "I'll keep an eye on them"

Dean climbed out of the huge, over stuffed arm chair he'd been sitting in and ran his hand over Alison's shoulder as he walked her to the door. Sam didn't miss the gesture.

"Um, how's she doing?"

Dean pulled the door quietly closed behind him. "Surprisingly well, considering we've convinced her that her much loved baby brother is now a murderous, vengeful spirit"

Sam nodded and looked down at his notebook, though it was closed. "Yeah. About that. The girl? Sherry?"

Dean nodded.

"Her bath was full of lake water. Hell, her bath, the bathroom, the hallway and half the downstairs rooms. There was so much water, it was literally everywhere."

"And she drowned. In her bath. In her dirty, cold, lake water"

"Yep. Looks like" He gestured towards the door. "And the other kids? How are they holding up?"

"They're holding" Dean sighed and leaned against the door, arms folded. "I got them in a salt ring, protective sigils, the whole ball of wax. Should hold"

"Well, we just keep a close eye on them. Anyone dreams, we wake them up. Sound right?"

"For now. If this don't work, we may have to go that whole dream root theory. But, last resort"

Sam pulled a paper bag out of his pocket and threw it at Dean who caught it without effort.

"Dream root?"

"Yeah. There's a Wicca supply place on Main. Thought it wouldn't hurt, you know. Just in case"

"Just in case" Dean sighed and turned to the door, grasping the handle. "Maybe brew up a cup, if one of these kids gets into trouble, we may need to jump in pretty quickly"

Sam nodded and followed his brother inside.

~0~

Alison murmured softly in her sleep, and moved a little as she lay curled up in the huge sofa chair.

Dean looked up but she stilled and her breathing evened out again.

The four teens were all sound asleep, safe within their circle, sleeping bags zipped tight.

Sam had his laptop open and Dean had a book in front of him, a table lamp providing ample light for him to read.

"Hey" Sam whispered. "The lake, um, Lake Deamonn?"

"Yes. Lake Deamonn. I am enjoying its mind numbingly boring history even as we speak" Dean looked up and rubbed his eyes.

"Well, skip ahead a hundred years. Says here a kid near drowned there, mucking around with his mates, one night while on a school adventure camp"

"When did that happen?"

Sam tapped the screen. "Hundred years to the day that Daniel drowned. Looks like, same time, even"

"Yeah? What happened?"

Sam spun the computer back. "Seems he was dragged from the lake, not breathing, heart stopped. They managed to revive him, but he died a week later, never having regained consciousness. And then, um, one by one, his friends all died. By drowning. In their sleep"

"Oh crap" Dean leaned back.

"Yeah. Crap"

"So, this may not be coma kid after all? It could be history boy?"

Sam shrugged. "Yeah. Could be. Or maybe Daniel's spirit got tangled up with the older spirit. Or something. Anyway, he's buried here, in the local cemetery. I think we need a salt and burn, just to be sure"

Dean looked at his watch. "I don't want to leave these kids. I don't wanna wake Alison, either. We'll have to do a daylight run at him tomorrow. What's his name, the history kid?"

Sam leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. "Bradmere. Simon Bradmere. Looks like he was a distant relative of our coma boy"

Dean frowned. "Weird. See, Alison said they only shifted here a year ago. They inherited the house from a great aunt who passed away. Looks like it was all a rather strange coincidence"

"Dean. We don't believe in coincidences"

"No we don't, Sammy. No we don't"

A murmur from the carpet caught the boys' attention. They looked over, but all was quiet.

"Well…." Started Dean, but a yell from the carpet brought the boys to their feet.

The boy Mark was struggling with his sleeping bag, his eyes wide open, his hands clawing in terror at his throat. As the kids around him awoke he started to vomit cold, dark, lake water.

"His hair. Grab his hair and the tea" Dean commanded and ran to the boy as the other kids moved away in terror.

Alison leapt up from her seat and grabbed the boy's shoulders, tipping him onto his side. "What do we do? What do we do?" She screamed.

"We can't do anything" Dean growled. "Sammy is going to try, but all we can do is hold him"

Sam drank the dream root tea he had prepared earlier after he dropped the pre cut hair into it and sat back down.

Within seconds he passed out.

Dean looked behind himself at his brother a she struggled to hold the bucking, choking teen.

"Come on, Sammy" he whispered.

~0~

_Sam gasped as he plunged deep into the frigid lake water. He ducked under after gulping a breath and scanned around._

_There, just ahead, he could see the boy, Mark, struggling as he was held down, a white hand firmly clasping his ankle._

_Sam swam over to the struggling boy and dived to the hand, pulling a knife from his boot as he did so._

_Getting closer he could see the arm that joined to the hand, and Mark's face, panicked, dying, hands struggling to swim to the surface._

_He saw Sam, and his eyes turned to pleading._

_Sam kicked down further and grabbed the hand, but couldn't free the boy._

_He pulled his knife around and stabbed the hand, cutting off a finger and starting to saw another when the hand let go of the drowning boy._

_Mark kicked his way to the surface, not looking back, his desperate battle for air nearly lost._

_Sam saw another hand reach up to hold the injured one then the face of the boy who owned them came into view._

_It was Daniel._

_He looked at Sam and smiled, and shook his head._

_He reached out to grab the hunter but Sam lunged again, his knife striking Daniel in the face removing an eye and much of the boy's cheek. He slashed again, this time catching the boy's throat, slicing deep._

_Daniel's mouth opened in pain and shock and he pushed away, back into the murky depths below._

_Sam watched him sink away for a moment then turned and swam to the surface, kicking his way through the frigid water easily._

_He broke the surface and gasped in a mountain of air, his burning lungs glad for the sweet release._

_Looking around, he couldn't locate the boy. He turned, treading water, trying to find him._

And woke up at the table.

Dean had Mark upright, half out of his sleeping bag. They were sitting in a large puddle of dark lake water, but the boy was alive.

"Oh God. I thought I was dead." He exclaimed. "I mean, I was asleep, and I was awake, and I was drowning"

Dean hauled him up and sat him on the closest chair. "What can you remember?"

Mark wiped a hand over his wet face, his eyes as wide as saucers.

Alison and the teens gathered around as he tried to form his thoughts into words.

"I was asleep. Dreaming. We were at the lake. Me, and you, and you, and you" he pointed to the other kids "And I slipped. I fell in. No one came to help me, and I started to go under, my coat was too heavy when it was wet. But, you know, I pulled it off, and tried to swim to the surface. But I couldn't. Something was holding me. Holding my leg. I was drowning. I couldn't get free, and I was drowning"

"But you woke up, Mark. You woke up" Amanda said.

The boy shrugged and shook his head. "Yeah, but no, not really. I was still there, at the lake. I kinda knew it was a dream, that I wasn't really there, but I couldn't wake up, I couldn't stop what was happening. Until he came" he turned and pointed at Sam. "He saved my life"

Everyone looked at Sam and he ducked his head a little. "Um, thanks?"

"Anyway, I swam to the surface, and that's when I woke up. For real. I mean, I knew where I was, and I wasn't drowning anymore"

Shell bent down to make eye contact with Mark. "What had you, Mark? Did you see? What held you down?"

Mark shook his head. "No. Well, it was a hand, but I couldn't see whose hand it was. It was just a hand"

Alison stepped forward. "And you, Sam? Did you see whose hand it was?"

Sam tried to give her a smile but failed. He nodded. "I'm sorry, Alison"

Alison's hand reached up to cover her mouth and she nodded, her eyes filling with tears.

She turned and stepped away.

"How did they get us through the salt?" Asked Jason. "I thought you said that would protect us?"

Dean ran a hand across his beard. "Yeah. That. See, your dreams, they can go just about anywhere. And we can't put a salt circle in your custard. Salt and the other stuff protected you while you were here, but once your dreams took off, well…"

"Great" Jason pulled his wet sleeping bag off his legs. "I am NEVER sleeping again. _Never_"

"This should all be over tomorrow night. You should be fine after then. One more night"

Mark coughed.

"Are you sure? I mean, how can you know it will stop?" Amanda asked.

"Trust me. We know"

Mark coughed again, and his hand went up to his mouth.

"Mark?" Sam stood and leaned over the boy. "Mark, you okay? You need to yark?"

Mark looked up at him, eyes wide, hand over his mouth.

He coughed again, and this time he started to vomit.

Water.

He vomited cold, dark, lake water, all over the table, the floor, and himself.

Dean grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, but the boy was drowning. He clawed at his throat, his eyes wide with panic, as the water flowed in a stream from his mouth.

"Stop it! Help him! Can't you help him?" screamed Shell as the boy vomited up gallons and gallons of dark water.

Sam grabbed the salt container and threw a massive hand full of salt at the boy.

It seemed to work, so he up ended the container of salt over the boy's head.

Dean picked him up and rushed him back into the salt circle as Sam followed them, reinforcing the ring and repairing it where the water had washed parts away.

Mark coughed and coughed, but the water had stopped.

Dean looked at Sam. "That was close"

"Yeah. Too close"

* * *

_**A/N...don't forget, reviews are mandatory. There is a hefty fine if you don't leave one...**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N... insert something witty here. **_

_**(I've had a traumatic coupla days & can't think of anything to say...)**_

* * *

Chapter Eight

"Here. It's this one" Sam pointed to a small mausoleum. "He should be in there"

Dean shouldered his shovel. "Well, our lives just got a whole lot easier. No digging"

"Small mercies" Sam walked up to the chained gate. "Let's just make sure he's in here"

Dean picked the lock, though it took time and effort, the old padlock was rusted and uncooperative.

It took both hunters to tug the gate open, the loud screech setting their teeth on edge.

The mausoleum was dark and filled with sticky old spider webs that clung to anything that came within inches of them, coating Sam's hair as he near brushed against the ceiling.

Both men had their flashlights out, searching the plaques in the walls and on the free standing marble coffins.

"This one. Found him"

Dean rushed to his brother who was standing beside a pale grey marble coffin, its intricate carvings now covered in dust and webs, the mummified bodies of beetles and small birds cluttering the edges and head piece.

Together they prized the top off to find the dusty, rag coved skeleton of Simon Bradmere.

"Bit of a runt, wasn't he?" Dean looked at the small frame. "Can't have been more than four and a half feet tall. You sure this is him?"

Sam shone his light over the name plaque. "Yeah. Dates are right. It's him."

His bones so brittle, his clothes not more than pieces of tinder dry rags, he burned brightly and quickly.

The Winchesters stood by the coffin until he was finished, then poured holy water over the ash before sliding the lid back in place.

"One down" Dean sighed as he turned to leave. "Let's hope Daniel is as easy to put to rest"

"Jinxing us much there, Dean?"

"No, no, not at all. Just hoping. You never know, this could be the end. I mean, after tomorrow"

"Yeah. Well. Let's see"

-0-

"So, um, no one slept?"

Mark shook his head. "We all stayed up all night. I think, even after the funeral, that we're gonna have trouble sleeping. I mean, wouldn't you?"

Sam nodded. "I hear yah" He stepped back as more family entered the church. "I'm going to go sit with my brother"

Mark nodded. "Yeah. My mom is waving at me to come and sit. Dude, really, thanks again. This coulda been my funeral" the boy turned and walked over to his mother as Sam took a seat beside his brother on the last pew at the back of the funeral home.

"Funerals. Dude. This is something I don't really care if I don't do again"

"Right with you there, Dean. Just pretend it's an elaborate salt and burn"

Music started and the low hush of vices stilled.

Alison entered, holding her little sister's hand tightly, a lace handkerchief in the other as she gently dabbed her eyes.

Her parents followed close behind, and then the coffin, covered in white flowers, was wheeled behind them.

The service was mercifully brief and non religious, and as the crematorium was on site the coffin was wheeled away as they lowered their heads in a silent prayer.

Afterwards Alison found Dean in the crowd at the front, standing under a blossom tree, his hair already covered in soft, misty pink petals.

She walked up to him and brushed them aside, feeling a tight stab in her stomach as she did so.

She liked this man. He was nice.

Protective.

Strong.

And really good looking.

"Is this it? Is it over?" she asked.

Dean looked down on her, noting for the first time how she had a line of blonde hair at her part, the sun highlighting the difference in her natural color and the bright red she'd chosen to honor her brother.

"Dunno. Yeah. Should be. Sam and me, we took care of the, ah, the other one. Earlier today. So, yeah, we're thinking this is it"

Alison sighed. "I can't believe it was my brother. This is so, you know…just…" she waived her hand, searching for the perfect word but coming up empty.

"Yeah. I know"

"So, what now? We just go back to our normal lives and you and your brother take off after the next restless spirit?"

Dean gave her a gentle smile. "Something like that. We'll hang around for another night, just to be sure, but, yeah, then we're off again"

Alison nodded. "Well, it's going to be a nightmare at my house. Relatives, casseroles, home videos. If you want, we could, maybe, grab something to eat tomorrow? Before you leave?"

Dean touched her arm before letting his hand fall. "Yeah. We could. I'd like that, Alison"

She smiled at him and nodded, then turned and walked back to her family.

Sam walked over and smiled at him.

"What?"

"You look like you're wearing candy floss" he pointed to Dean's fresh coating of blossoms.

Dean wiped at his head and realized he's been talking to the girl while wearing the soft pink adornments.

"Stop grinning. You look like an idiot. This is a funeral" Dean turned and stormed off to the car.

-0-

"So, it's over? We can sleep?"

Jason looked over at Amanda and nodded. "I think so. I think those guys took care of everything. And they were like, they _knew_ everything. So, yeah, it's over"

Mark leaned back against the kitchen bench. The four remaining teens were in the kitchen at Daniel's house, the wake was slowly drawing to a close.

"I don't think I'll ever sleep properly again. Well, at least not for a while" Shell ran a hand through her hair. "But I am _sooo_ tired. And, you know, not just sleep tired. You know what I'm saying?"

Mark nodded. "We lost four friends this week. And I nearly died. So, yeah, we know what you mean"

Amanda looked up as her mom leaned in the kitchen door. "Okay, guys. Gotta blaze. Talk tomorrow, 'kay?"

-0-

_The grass was longish, covering her shoes as she walked. _

_The trail was over grown, hard to see. She could only tell the way to go as there were no flowers on the green path, though they thickly lined either side. _

_It was so pretty, the leaves were turning like it was fall, but all the wild flowers were blooming like it was spring._

_She walked for a while, enjoying the feel of the sun on her cheeks, the smell of the green grass and the soft perfume of the blossoms._

_Butterflies in impossibly bright colors flickered around the bobbing daisies and roses, and there, up ahead, was that a doe?_

_It was, and she had twin fawns at her heel, both tiny, spotted wide eyed creatures with thick, long, black lashes._

_The doe didn't run from her a she approached, instead she turned and waited for Amanda to draw closer and allowed her to pat her, scratching behind her large, soft ears._

_The fawns were a little more cautious, peering out from behind their mother as they blinked their wide, brown black eyes._

_Amanda watched as the doe finally turned and walked off into the red and gold trees, then she continued down the path._

_She wasn't sure where she was, or how she got here._

_She just knew it was lovely, and she felt peaceful._

_Happy, even._

_She could hear the gentle sound of running water as she walked, before long she came to a clear bubbling stream. _

_She followed it until it ran into the lake._

_The lake._

_Amanda stopped._

_The lake._

_There was something…_

_But she couldn't remember._

_She frowned. When had the day gotten so grey?_

_Where were the flowers, and the bright butterflies?_

_She turned around and smiled as she saw the doe had followed her. She reached out to pat her again, but this time the doe looked, well, mean._

_She lowered her head, and before Amanda could react the doe rushed at her, head butting the girl square in the chest and sending her over the bank._

_Into the lake._

_Into the frigid, dark, brackish water._

* * *

**_A/N...you know me by now, don't you? When have I ever left you with a simple salt and burn?_**

**_A review would be just lovely...really..._**


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N...ahhh...nearly the end. I hope you are enjoying this so far..._**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

The deep bass tones of Dean's ring tone woke Sam and he turned over.

Dean didn't move.

"Dean"

Still nothing.

_"DEAN!"_

Dean's hand reached from under the pillow and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

Sam turned over and snuggled back into his own pillow.

"What? Alison? Yeah, sorry, I was asleep. Yeah. Yeah. No. What? She drowned? When?"

Sam sat up and turned to his brother, who was sitting on the side of his bed, rubbing his eyes as she talked.

"Are you sure? Yeah. Fine. Sure"

Dean sat the phone back on the night stand.

"Someone else drowned?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, Amanda. In her bed. While she slept"

Sam pulled the cover over and got out of bed. "But, dude, we took care of everything."

Dean stretched his back until it popped. "Well, we missed something. C'mon, get dressed. She's meeting us at that coffee shop café place"

-0-

"Man, you said it was safe! You told us it was over, we could go to sleep!" Jason yelled, his face red with anger.

Alison grabbed his shoulder. "Sit down, Jase. Sit down. We thought it_ was_ over"

Sam and Dean looked around at the faces pointed their way as they made a beeline to the table.

"You wanna explain how Amanda died in her bed?" Mark demanded.

Shell was also there, pale, quiet, her eyes wide and frightened.

"We don't know. We took care of all the, um." Sam looked around, but they were no longer the subject of interest for the surrounding people. "We took care of the spirits. We don't know what killed Amanda"

Alison waved the waitress over and ordered coffees for the small group.

"Well, it seems that whatever killed the others also killed her. You guys were on the wrong track"

"It could have been me" Shell spoke so quietly that for a moment no one reacted.

"What?" Dean looked at the terrified child.

"I slept last night. That could have been me. Or Mark. Or Jason. I guess we get one more day. But sooner or later, we're gonna have to sleep, and then it will pick us off, one by one"

Dean placed one hand on the table, palm down. "We will find out what it is. We will. I promise you"

"Do you have any ideas? Any leads?"

Dean frowned. "Well… there's something we could try." He looked over at Sam who nodded back at him. "If one of you could help out"

"Help out? How?" asked Jason.

"Well, you know how we helped Mark the other night?" Sam asked him. "How I drank that special tea, and went inside his dream?"

"Oh God. Oh God. You want one of us to fall asleep, don't you?" Jason wrapped his arms around himself. "Nah. Uh Uh. Not me. I aint doing it"

"I will" Shell spoke softly, and went un-noticed.

"You can't ask us. You can't. That's too much" Mark shook his head, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"I'll do it" Shell said again.

"What? Shell, did you say you'd do it?" Alison asked.

Everyone turned to the frightened girl. "Yes. I said I'd do it"

Jason shook his head. "You're mad. You'll die. You're crazy, they can't protect you. They can't save you"

Shell turned her soulful eyes to him. "Then I'll die. If not today, within the next three days. And so will the both of you. At least this way, I have a chance. They saved Mark"

Mark nodded. "Okay. She said she'll do it. Let_ her _do it. Let it be her"

Shell looked up at Sam, her eyes determined now. "You'll protect me?"

Sam nodded. "With all I have"

-0-

The room was almost bare. There were a couple of old couches over to one side and a couple of chairs, a Formica topped table was pushed up against one wall, and a discarded fridge against another.

Sam placed the fold up cot in the middle of the room and pushed it open, folding the foam mattress down and locking the frame into place.

Shell looked at it and shrugged. "I guess it will do"

Dean walked over to the table and dragged it to the middle beside the cot while Alison dragged the chairs across. "Couches okay for you two?" she asked Sam.

"Yeah. Fine. It'll do fine"

Dean handed his brother a thermos. "You ready?"

Sam looked at Shell who nodded. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I reckon it'll take less than five minutes for me to drift off"

Sam took the thermos. "As soon as you're asleep, we'll drink the dream root. Okay?"

Shell sat on the bed and kicked off her boots. "No. Not really." She gave a self conscious laugh. "My parents think I'm at the mall. If this doesn't go well…"

"It will" Dean bobbed down in front of her. "It will. I'm gonna mark the floor like I did with Mark. It will work. We promise you"

"Well. I'm just saying. If it doesn't go like we planned, my mom's number is the first speed dial on my cell. And I wanna thank you. I know you're trying. I know you'll do your best"

She leant forward and gave Dean a hug before lying down, Alison covering her with a thick plush coverlet.

"You sure no one will hear us down here?" Dean asked.

Alison sat at the table. "We've let this room out for parties, and they got pretty wild. You couldn't hear them from upstairs at all" She looked around the windowless basement room.

"It's safe, I guess. One of the perks of being a bar manager" She pulled a bottle from her hand bag, and followed with a couple of glasses. "This is another"

Dean smiled at her. "If I'm ever looking for a career change, that might just be the one I'll apply for"

Sam opened the can of salt and made a ring around the bed and table as Dean drew the protective sigils, then Sam salted the only door.

Sam accepted a shot from Alison and looked down at the girl on the cot. "She's asleep" he whispered.

"Show time." Dean looked at Alison. "You know what to do. You gonna be okay?"

She gave him a shaky smile and nodded. "I still don't get how this works."

"Doesn't matter. Just as long as it does" Dean winked at her.

Sam poured a large serve of the tea into each of the glasses. "Ah, make sure you wipe them before you take a drink, Alison"

Sam and Dean picked up the glasses and clinked them together. "Salute" Dean winked at his brother.

"See you on the other side" Sam answered, and they downed the bitter liquid in one go.

-0-

The sun glinted at an odd angle, making the Impala look dark brown as the sunset colored the late afternoon sky.

The breeze was gentle, the long grass waved like a slowly rolling ocean. Here and there bright butterflies flittered through the grass, stopping on the wildflowers that poked their heads through the sea of green.

Dean and Sam opened the car doors simultaneously and stood, looking around at the landscape.

"Where is she?" Sam asked.

"Dunno. But I'm thinking we're at the lake, coz this is her dream"

They shut the doors and moved off down the only path.

"Um, Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"If this is Shell's dream, how come your car is in it?"

Dean shrugged. "Dunno. But I'm not complaining. Nice to see my baby again, even if it is only a dream"

"There" Sam pointed ahead. "I think I can see her"

Ahead, in the direction Sam had pointed, was an old timber shack. They could clearly see a figure moving, but were still too far away to see who it was.

They moved quickly, their way hindered by the long grass covering most of the path, but were not too worried. If Shell wasn't in the water, she wasn't in any danger of drowning.

Yet.

The shack was up a gentle rise and as they drew closer they could see a manicured garden surrounded it, and long climbing plants covered the side, bright pink and purple flowers scattered amongst the foliage.

The path wound up the rise and as they progressed the boys could see various chickens, ducks and turkeys milling around the garden, off to one side there was a cow tethered to a ramshackle fence.

It looked like a Thomas Kinkade painting.

Rounding a corner was a woman.

She was tall, broad, and middle aged.

Not Shell.

Dean looked at Sam, who shrugged his confusion.

The woman hadn't seen them, and when a small shaggy dog started to bark she looked up, startled.

"Who goes there?" she called.

Dean waved. "Ma'am? Hi, me and my brother here, we've got ourselves a bit lost"

The woman stood with her hands on her hips. "Who are you?"

The boys walked into the yard, closing the small wire gate behind them. "I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean."

She looked them up and down, her face stern.

The boys regarded her just as closely. She was dressed in a long dress and an apron, a cloth hat covering her head.

Her feet were covered in sturdy boots and a woven basket hung from her elbow.

She looked like she was from a bygone era, her costume more at home in pioneer days than in a teenage girl's dream.

"We were looking for our, um, our little sister. We seem to have gotten separated."

She frowned. "Well, you can call me Mrs Deamonn. Look around. There's no little girl here"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. But have you seen her? Or anyone?"

She turned her head and looked out over the lake. "There's been no one here. Not for a very long time. Not since…" She turned back to the hunters. "Your sister is not here. Please leave"

Dean looked a Sam, is face confused. "Ma'am?"

She stood square, he hands now by her side. "I told you to leave. Now"

Dean took a step back. Sam tipped his head to one side. "Or what?"

The woman looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, leave now…or what?" Sam put his hands on his hips. "Why do you need us to leave?"

She smiled, but this was no friendly, welcoming lift of her lips.

This was a grimace of anger.

She lifted a hand and the sky darkened. The wind whipped up and the flowers, fowl and cow disappeared. Clouds formed over head, large, thunderous black storm clouds, and the wind grew stronger and stronger.

She faced them and her features changed, no longer that of a woman in her middle years, she now looked like a zombie, her eye sockets dark, her leathered skin drawn close over her bones, her lips pulled back in a rictus snarl.

Her hair had changed to frizzled tendrils of black, whipping this way and that in the cold, fierce wind.

She raised her other arm and both brothers were sent flying backwards, over the fence, crashing hard onto the barren ground, the long soft grass having gone the way of the garden.

Both men lay still for a moment, the crushing blow having winded both of them.

The storm was growing in intensity and the wind howled like a demon around them.

A distant scream startled them and they sat up as one, the wind still whipping around them, debris picked up and flung at them in a stinging rapport.

The scream rang out again and they helped each other up.

"Where was that from? Can you tell?" Dean yelled over the roar of the storm.

Sam pointed, his hair tossing back and forth, his eyes squinted against the dust. "I think that way, behind the shack"

"I think we should go round" Dean looked over at the shack.

The woman was nowhere in sight but the storm was growing in intensity.

Off in the distance there was lightning, and the sky was growing darker by the minute.

The men hurried around the low fence to the other side of the shack and they heard the scream again, this time closer.

There was a twisted, barren tree on the edge of the steep bank and as the hunters approached they heard the scream again.

Leaning over the edge they saw Shell, desperately clinging to a root as her legs kicked and scrambled for purchase, the dark water many yards below.

"Dean! Grab my legs!"Sam yelled as he lunged on his belly, reaching over to grab the girl.

He felt strong hands grip him tight so he wriggled further, over the cliff edge enough to grab Shell with both hands and lift her back to safe ground.

The girl clung to him, sobbing, as Dean pulled them all back from the edge.

Sam pulled her away from him, his large hands enveloping both sides of her face. "I got you, Shell. You're safe. I got you"

He held her head until her sobbing stopped and she opened her eyes. "You got me?"

"I got you. You're safe"

Sam let her head go and she ran a hand through her hair.

"Shell? What happened here?" Dean asked her, his voice loud over the wind.

"I was walking, it was all sunny and pretty, then suddenly the wind came up, it was so strong it blew me right over the edge!"

Sam stood, one hand firmly clasping the girl's. "What now, Dean?"

Dean looked over at the shack. "Who is the woman? I'm thinking she's the key"

"You wanna go back" Sam looked towards the house.

"No, but I think we have to"

* * *

_**A/N... Not long to go now!...reviews, as always, are gratefully accepted...**_


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N... Sorry, getting slammed at work. And I have had a flat tyre when I go out to my car every night, so by the time the roadside assist guy comes it is very late and I get home with no energy left to log on to the computer. Hopefully last chapter will be not too far after this one..._**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

They turned towards the shack, though the going was tough, the wind was stronger now and it was blowing against them.

Sam dragged the petite girl behind him, at times he felt her feet lift with the power of the wind and he was sure if he hadn't held on to her she would have blown back over the cliff.

They came to the small fence, but something stopped them from stepping over it. Some invisible force prevented any breach of the perimeter.

They rounded the corner slowly, the wind pushing them harder, but found once they opened the gate they could enter easily.

"Where's the hag?" yelled Dean.

"Maybe in the shack?" yelled back Sam.

They slowly made their way to the front of the shack and tried the small brass handle. The door was unlocked and they pushed the door open and entered, both men having to duck to avoid striking their heads on the opening.

The contrast inside the small house was amazing. As soon as they shut the door there was total silence.

The house was surprisingly bright and cheerful inside, with heavy tapestries on some walls, an overstuffed, brightly cushioned sofa and rugs covering the floor.

There were no modern appliances, the house was a time capsule of early American life.

"Where's the crone?" hissed Dean.

They walked further into the small room. There were no doors, nowhere else for the woman to hide.

"Well, we don't actually know she's in here"

"What woman?" Shell asked. "Did you see someone here? I thought this was my dream, why would someone else be here?"

"We think she must be a very powerful spirit, someone who can invade your dreams. You didn't dream her, she just made herself a place here" Sam explained.

"She said her name was Deamonn. Like the lake. But you didn't find anything about her on the 'net, did you? There was nothing about any woman, in the book, that may have drowned or been murdered here" Dean moved closer to one of the large tapestries. He poked it and it moved.

"There's a doorway behind this" he whispered.

Sam and Shell moved closer, and Sam gave a nod for Dean to continue.

Dean pulled the tapestry aside to reveal a very large room behind it.

They walked through and let the heavy fabric drop back into place.

The room's dimensions were amazing. It was clearly bigger than the whole shack they had seen from outside, and even though it was at the back of the shack, the full windows that lined one wall looked out over the lake.

The view outside was of a beautiful spring morning, the garden was full of flowers, brightly colored butterflies flittered about. Birds were singing and off in the distance you could see a sail boat on the lake.

The furnishings in the room were different, too, with wicker and cane wear dotted about, while large overstuffed ottomans and highly adorned afghans covered most of the floor.

There were whimsical paintings on the wall, and large bunches of freshly cut flowers in terracotta vases around the place.

Against one wall was a day bed with soft curtains that hung from the ceiling, and large silk cushions scattered over the bright purple cover.

"This room is amazing. I'd live here" Shell whispered.

"You and me both, kiddo" Dean answered her. "But where's mamma bitch?"

"Dean. Look at this" Sam was standing near an ornately carved dresser, looking up at a large painting.

"Well, lookie here. It's the storm witch"

The painting showed a happy family.

There was a tall man, rather stern looking, a full and dark beard covered most of his face.

The woman they met outside was standing beside him and his arm was draped across her shoulders. In her arms was a small baby girl.

In front of them was a boy. His grin was infectious, his nose slightly upturned and covered with freckles. The painting showed his hair as sandy red, the bangs hanging across his bright blue eyes.

"Oh my God. He looks like Daniel" Shell gasped.

"There's a plaque" Sam leaned forward. "It says that's Simon Deamonn, his wife Hilda, daughter Margaret and their son. Um. His name is Daniel"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Shell turned to the men. "Daniel? Really?"

"It's not really that surprising, Shell. Daniel is a family name. So is Simon. Your Daniel is a direct descendant of this family"

"Probably why the spirit chose him first" Dean muttered. He looked down at the dresser.

A small brass urn stood there with flowers scattered around the base. He picked it up.

"It says Daniel Deamonn" he looked at Sam. "I guess these are his ashes"

"_PUT THAT DOWN!" _They turned and saw the woman standing there, her face bright red with rage. "You have no right! _PUT MY SON DOWN_!"

Dean gingerly replaced the urn. "Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean anything. Sorry"

The woman pushed passed them and rearranged the flowers surrounding the urn. "You shouldn't touch him. You have no right. No right at all"

She turned to face the three who had stepped away from her. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

Sam raised his hands, palms up, in a placating gesture. "Mrs Deamonn? What happened to Daniel?"

Her face darkened and she looked the floor. "My Daniel" she whispered.

She slowly walked to the window. "My beautiful boy. My Daniel" She sighed and leaned her forehead against the glass. "He was a wonderful child. A very good boy. He worked hard, he helped his father, he respected his mother. He was so good. So very good. He planted the garden here, you know?" She lifted one hand and placed it on the glass. "But he had a problem. He stuttered. And the children, the other children, they teased him so. He had no friends. He had no one to spend time with. He spent all of his time here, in the garden, or playing with his sister."

She stepped back and sat on the wicker chair nearby."One day he was invited to go swimming with the boys from church. He was so happy! For the first time he was included. He sang about it all day, and he planned what to wear, what to do, and he barely slept the night before for all of his excitement. I couldn't be more happy for him. But it was a trick, you see" She looked back out of the window, though her gaze was introverted.

"They invited him purely for sport. They teased him and taunted him. Then they led him out into the lake, and they drowned him. Oh, they said it was an accident, that they were sorry, but that didn't change anything. My Daniel was gone, forever. Nothing could bring him back. I know. I tried. So I did the next best thing. I got each one of them. All of them. All of the group that were there that day, I went into their sleep, and I did to them what they did to my boy. I drowned them. I drowned them in their own beds"

She looked down at her hands. "It didn't help. My Daniel was still gone" She looked at the urn, her shoulders sagged in the pain of memory. "I managed to raise his spirit, you see. I used him to help me. Help me make an end to those terrible children that had hurt him, that had dragged him into the water and killed him"

Dean and Sam exchanged glances.

"But then, something happened. Some men came into town. They seemed to understand what I had done, what Daniel and I were doing. They took my boy, my wonderful, precious boy, they took him and burned him! They dug up his grave and burned his bones, and stopped him from ever being able to return to me. They made him no more" a sob escaped her.

"I didn't know what to do, then. I was lost. I was here, by myself, and I was lost. I tried to get him back, I tried to find him again, but he lived only in my dreams. I still had him there, I could dream about him whenever I wanted, whenever I went to sleep. So I started on a path, a journey, to find a way to bring him out of my dreams and make him real, whole again"

"And did you?" Sam asked her. She looked at him, her face surprised, as if she had forgotten he was in the room.

Slowly, she shook her head, and looked back down at her hands. "No. I couldn't. I tried everything, more than once, and I tried it again. But still, to no avail. I was lost. I was here, alone, and I was lost"

"Ma'am? What happened to your family? Your husband and daughter?"

She gave a dismissive wave. "He was a coward of a man. A coward. He couldn't cope with my grief so he left. Took Maggie and ran. I don't know where he went, and I don't care. Or I didn't, not for a long time. But then, on the anniversary of my Daniel's death, I felt him again. He was back. My boy had come home"

She sighed and played with a locket that was pinned to her left breast. "It was him. I was sure…but it wasn't. He looked the same, he felt the same. He had red hair, he was thin and short. It was him. And he was swimming. In the lake. In _our_ lake!"

She let the locket drop. "And they were teasing him. Again. As if they did not learn the first time! They teased him, and they pushed him, and they held him under the water until he drowned. Again. They killed my boy again, They took him from me, again. My boy. My beautiful boy. So I got them. I hunted them. I got in their dreams, and I killed them the way they killed my Daniel. I made sure there was no one left, not one of them. And this time, when I tried to bring him back, to take him from my dreams and make him whole, it worked. He returned to me. He stayed with me for an age. But then, he was gone. Just yesterday, I looked for him, and I couldn't find him. Someone had taken him again."

She looked up at the three listeners. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

Sam took a breath then cleared his throat. "Ma'am? Mrs Deamonn? Did you, um. Did you…" he turned to Dean who just shrugged. "Did you drown yourself? Off the cliffs, here?"

She turned to him, her eyes flashing in rage. "How dare you! Do you judge me? You? Who are you to judge me?" She raised her hand and Sam was flung backwards, crashing into the wall and falling in a heap.

Dean started to lunge towards her but she sent him flying as well, then looked at Shell.

"You, girl. You were there. You drowned my Daniel"

Shell shook her head. "No"

"Yes. You were there. I saw you. You were nearly naked, and you helped drown my Daniel!"

"No! Lady, you're crazy! You drowned_ MY_ Daniel. My friend. _Your_ Daniel died two hundred years ago. You killed my Daniel a month ago."

The woman smiled. It was not a nice smile. "You were there" she hissed, and raising her hand, she flung the hapless girl through the windows and out over the cliff.

"NO!" roared Sam as he pulled himself to his feet. "Dean, get up!" Sam shouted as he ran and jumped through the shattered glass, out onto the front garden, and dived off the cliff after Shell.

Dean stared wide eyed as his brother sailed over the edge then turned to the woman. "You have to stop this" he growled as he pulled himself to his feet. "She is not the one. She wasn't there. She had nothing to do with your Daniel"

The woman wouldn't look at him. Dean strode right up to her and grabbed her, lifting her to her feet.

"You have to stop this, do you hear me?" She turned her head away, hanging limp in his arms. "Listen to me!" he shook her. "That girl is innocent! She didn't know your boy. She didn't hurt him. But you're gonna hurt her, you're gonna hurt her momma like those kids hurt you. _Do you understand_?"

The woman shook her head. "They killed my boy. My beautiful boy. They teased him, and they drowned him"

Dean held her up and close to his face. "I know. I know what they did. They broke your heart. Lady, they broke your damn soul, too. I know what that's like, to lose someone you love. Look at me. Look into my eyes. You'll see I'm telling the truth"

She raised her head and looked into his eyes. One tear rolled from her face. "My boy…."

"Yes. Your boy. And it hurt so damned much you couldn't live. But that little girl? The one that you threw over the cliff? That girl is some other lady's baby, and you're gonna take her away. You're gonna kill her little girl, and break her heart. Is that what you want? You want to hurt someone as bad as you were hurt?"

Mrs Deamonn looked into Deans eyes and cried.

She shook her head. "No. She killed my boy. Her, and her friends. They took my Daniel and they drowned him. _They drowned him_!"

"Believe me, lady, that girl _did not_ kill your boy. She never met your boy. She never knew him. She's just someone's little girl. You hear me? She's somebody's little baby. And you're killing her"

"No"

"Yes, she is. She's just a girl, just a sweet, sad, lonely sixteen year old girl, and you're gonna rip her away from her mother and break her heart"

She shook her head.

"You are going to kill her and her mother will die in sorrow. Just like you. Just like your boy"

Dean felt the hands shaking him, he heard Alison's voice.

Shaking him? How did Alison get into the crone's house?

"_DEAN_"

He opened his eyes and realized he was cradled in the young woman's lap. Sitting up, he looked around and saw Sam holding Shell, her face red and wet, but very much alive.

"What happened, Dean? How did you stop her?" Sam asked.

"I don't really know. I just kinda begged her not to kill Shell. Told her she was killing someone else's child"

Shell pulled away the wet blanket and stood. "Well, it worked. I thought I was done for when I went over that cliff. No matter how hard Sam pulled, we couldn't make it to the surface."

"So how did you get her out of the water?" Dean asked as Alison gave him a hand to his feet.

"I didn't, Dean. I just woke up here, beside Shell, covered in water"

"So, it's over?" Shell asked. "I can sleep safely now?"

Dean poured himself a large drink. He downed it and grimaced before he could look the teenager in the eye.

"No, it's not. It's only over for now. Me and my brother still have a few things to take care of before you guys are safe" He poured another drink, and handed it to Sam. "But what you did today? It was really brave, and it gave us the clue to finish all this"

Shell nodded. She looked down at her soaked clothes. "I'm glad I brought a change of clothes. Is there some where I can get them on that's not in front of you guys?"

Alison stepped forward. "Of course, honey. Come with me" She led the girl from the room.

"So, salt and burn?" Sam asked as he drained his glass.

"Yep. Salt and burn. But first we gotta find where the old bitch is buried"

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_**A/N...don't forget, it is the federal law to leave a review. Trust me, I checked...**_


	11. Chapter 11

**_A/N... Here we are, the end. And posting from my iPhone so I'm a little apprehensive..._**

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**Chapter Eleven**

Alison brought over another round of beers and shimmied into the booth next to Sam.

Dean raised a brow and she smiled at him, her feet touching his. "Any luck?"

"Ah, yeah. Tons. All of the bad variety" Sam answered.

Dean forked the last piece of steak into his mouth and pushed his plate away.

Sam grabbed a fry from it and popped it into his mouth. "See, Old Ma Deamonn did kill herself after her son drowned, but it says here that her body was never found" he told her, pointing to the article he'd been reading on his computer.

"She threw herself in the lake. Drowned, just like her boy" Dean added.

Alison sighed. "So, what do you do now? How do you put her spirit to rest?"

Sam frowned. "We have no idea"

All three fell silent.

Sam continued to scroll through the pages on the computer, hoping to find something that would help him.

"Alison? Do you know if there still is a shack up on the cliff over the lake?"

Alison looked up at Sam. "Yeah. It's still there. Well, what's left of it. It was lived in till about eighty years ago, and it's kinda been left to rundown since then"

"What're you thinking, Sam?" Dean asked.

Sam sat back in the booth. "Says here that there is a small grave at the back of the shack. All the members of the family were laid to rest at the local church, but there is one unmarked grave there"

Dean leaned forward, his beer in between his hands. "They never found her body, Sam. It can't be her."

Sam turned the computer around. "I found a thesis written by a local historian while he was at college. He thought that old Ma Deamonn hung herself from that rickety tree over the cliff, she never drowned herself at all, and her husband buried her behind the house. You see, they couldn't bury her at the church grave yard. Suicide victims cannot be buried on hallowed ground"

Dean drained his glass. "Let's go, dude. See if we can find that old cow's bones to torch"

-0-

The hire car climbed the steep road easily, but it nearly bogged as soon as Dean turned it off the main road.

"Guess we walk from here" he grumbled.

The Winchesters loaded up with shovels, salt, holy water, duffle bag and shot guns and trudged up the overgrown path.

As they neared the top Sam stopped. "It's the same. From the dream, see? The trees, the grass, the flowers"

Dean nodded. "Guess it means we're on the right track, then"

Before long the last remains of the shack came into view, and Dean realized Alison may not have been up there for a while.

There was almost nothing left of the shack and the rambling garden had grown wild, escaping the low wire fence and mingling with the local flora.

"This is about where the back used to be." Sam stood and tried to picture where the grave may lie. "I think it's over there"

Dean pulled a metal detector from the duffel he was carrying and extended the shaft. It screamed as he turned it on, then quieted.

It hummed and squealed as he waved it around the area, each time Sam bent and dug or brushed aside the dirt to find an old nail, or a rusted piece of wire.

Sam held the EMF up, but the whole area gave off enough electromagnetic waves to render it useless.

After a while the metal detector let out a low hum, indicating something larger, and deeper.

Dean turned it off and set it aside. "Good a place as any"

They dug and before very long they uncovered a shallow buried coffin, the large metal nails having set off the detector.

Dean jumped onto the lid of the roughly made box and hit it with his shovel until it broke.

The dry, dusty skull stared back at him though lifeless dark holes in the yellow bone, straggled locks of black hair twisted around and tumbled across her face.

"_My boy_" a whispered, sorrowful call drifted over the ground, so low that at first Dean thought he'd imagined it.

"_They killed my boy_" this time the voice was stronger, and both men looked around, expecting to find the ghost of Mrs Deamonn standing there.

"Um. Dude, maybe get a move on" Sam handed Dean the salt container.

"Yeah, I think you're right" Dean pulled the lid and started to pour salt over the bones.

The voice screamed this time, all her pain and agony triggered by the layer of salt now covering her last human remains.

"Hurry up" Dean prompted as Sam dug in the bag for the lighter fluid.

Dean climbed from the hole as Sam sprayed the corpse, but before he could light the matches the spectral form of Mrs Deamonn appeared before them.

_"My boy._ _They drowned my boy_" she cried, her hands wringing in anguish.

"Dean. Torch the bones" Hissed Sam.

Dean struck the matches and the bright flare caught the attention of the ghost. She raised her hands and sent the boys flying, crashing to earth in a tangled heap of limbs and weeds.

"_They killed my boy_" She ranted as Dean sat up.

He couldn't see his brother. "SAM?"

No answer.

"_SAM_?"

"Yeah. Dean. I'm here. I'm okay"

"We gotta get to those bones"

Sam sat up and Dean let out a breath of relief. "How do you propose we get close? If she flings us the wrong way we end up over the cliff"

Dean crawled closer to his brother. "Split up. I'll go this way, draw her attention. You go that way, torch her. Move . Now"

Dean stood and slowly walked towards the woman, his hands held out before him.

"Mrs Deamonn? Do you remember me?"

_"My boy. Oh, my boy!"_

"Mrs Deamonn? Can you hear me?"

_"They drowned my boy, my only boy"_ She wept, wringing her hands, her face a desperate mask of pain.

"They killed your boy" Dean stepped closer, but to the side, trying to draw her attention to him.

_"They killed my boy"_

"They drowned your boy"

_"My only boy"_

"They took him and killed him"

_"They killed my beautiful boy"_

"They broke your heart"

_"My heart"_

"They took your boy and they broke your heart"

_"They broke my heart"_ She looked up at Dean as he drew closer. _"They broke my heart"_

"They killed your beautiful boy"

_"And they broke my heart"_

"They broke your heart"

Suddenly she stiffened, her eyes wide, then she screamed as she dissolved in a bright flash of flame and smoke.

Dean looked over at Sam as he stood by the grave, his hair disheveled and a small trickle of blood winding its path between his eyes. His face was sad.

"She was just a grieving mother. All she wanted was her boy"

Dean looked down at himself. His clothes were in the same state as his brother's, so he brushed them down, trying to knock off as much grime as he could.

"Yeah. Just a grieving mother. Who became a crazy spirit killing kids every hundred years"

He straightened and picked up the duffel. "C'mon. Lets' get outta here"

"You don't wanna fill in her grave?"

"Nope. Next rain'll do that for us just fine. Come on."

-0-

Jason stood at the railing, looking out over the street below.

They were upstairs at Alison's bar, a family restaurant filled the top floor, the long, potted plant filled balcony providing a wonderful view over most of the town, and off in the distance, the lake and the woods beyond.

They were there for Sherry's wake, her family deciding on a celebration of the young girl's life rather than a somber ceremony in a church.

The family had filled the restaurant with bright flowers, the walls adorned with posters showing the girl at school, in her cheerleading outfit, running track, posing with her teachers.

There was a large screen TV showing the school production, Sherry and Penny had the leads, a stammering young Daniel off to the side as an extra.

Waiters moved about with trays of finger food and beverages, and the crowded room was filled with people trying to be happy, trying to respect the short life of a child that was well loved.

Dean walked out on to the balcony and stood next to the Jason as he squinted out into the bright sunlight, trying to pick the spot on the cliffs where the ramshackle ruins of the cabin lay.

"It's really over. We all slept last night, all three of us" Mark said as he joined them. "Three of us. That's all that's left. Out of eight"

Shell walked up beside Mark. "It could have been all of us, you know. She wouldn't have stopped until we all were dead"

"Well, there is _that_" Jason sighed and turned away from the view. "Is she ever going to come back? Is anyone else gonna go through what we did?"

"No" Dean turned to the three kids. "We took care of that. But even if she did, she only ever showed up every hundred years, so you guys don't have to worry about her"

"Thank god for that" Mark sighed. "And you guys. You saved our lives"

Dean nodded. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you all"

"Why do I get the feeling that happens more times than it should?" Shell asked, her soulful eyes trained on Dean. "You did your best. You tried your hardest. And there're survivors. That's a good day, in my book"

"And mine" Alison echoed as she joined the group on the balcony. "This could have gone a whole different way."

Sam ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah. You're right. I mean. Look. We tell ourselves every day, you can't save everybody. Still doesn't make it any easier"

"Does for me" Shell smiled at him and hooked her arm through Mark's. "And I'm sure it does for my mom. And Jason's mom. And Mark's. You should remember that" she turned, taking Mark with her, and Jason followed close behind.

"Smart kid" Alison remarked, swinging her hair over her shoulder.

"And sassy. I like her" Dean smiled.

"So, Dean. I think we were gonna grab dinner together, weren't we?"

Sam looked down at his feet, then back at his brother, his head still bowed as he peered out through his bangs.

"I could eat" Dean answered her, and Alison hooked her arm though his in the same fashion as the young girl.

She smiled at Sam and hooked his arm as well.

"This is sure to set tongues a wagging" she laughed.

"Is that a problem?" Sam asked her.

"Gosh, no. It'll make me the subject of gossip for the next six months, at least!"

Dean smiled and met Sam's eyes over Alison's head.

They smiled at each other.

Shell was right.

And that did make all the difference.

Epilogue

The evening was one of those soft, gentle evenings that could be either early summer, late spring, or early fall, when the leaves were green, the wild flowers bloomed brightly and the night birds sang their mournful cry.

The setting of the sun had dropped the temperature dramatically and the lights around the shoreline lit up the surface of the still lake, and tendrils of mist drifted slowly this way and that across the mirrored surface of the water.

Along the lakes edges, right where the soft green grass met the water line, a large doe bent her perfect head and sipped at the cold water, her twin fawns darting playfully around her feet.

She drank deep. The night was quiet and she felt secure, safe, no sounds broke the night air other than the odd bird call.

She lifted her head and her long pink tongue darted out to lick her nose and dry her mouth. Her ears flicked, they moved forward and back, listening for any sound, any warning, any cause for alarm.

There was none.

She turned and walked slowly off into the woods, her babies following close behind.

In the middle of the lake, almost out of the reach of the dull shore lights, a ripple broke the surface.

The ripples broke into perfect rings of dark water, the light catching and coating each one with a diamond gloss.

The rings spread out, causing the mist to shimmer and dance as they travelled towards the shore.

Another ripple, this time accompanied by a small splash.

A hand broke the surface, white, pale, long fingers reached up towards the sky before drifting back down under the water.

Once again, silence returned to the lake.

This time not even the night bird called …..

-0-

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_**A/N well, that's it, done and dusted. Please don't forget I wrote this story in one day for a challenge on LJ while I was ill... I had to wait for the challenge to be up before I posted here. (one more challenge story to come in two or three weeks, but that is only a 7,000 word shortie)**_

_**Ande just coz it's over, don't mean you are off the hook with reviews! Please, take a moment to leave me a word...**_

_**Also, getting nagged to write another story or two. **_

_**I may just do another, if I get a few reviews here. It's all about the love, poeople! I love your reviews, and I write for you...**_

_**PM me if you have a particular story line you would like to see... and the season you would like to set it in. Alternatley write your suggestions on $100 bills and mail them to me...**_


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